


Unconditional

by klainewarblers



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: 4x07, Angst with a Happy Ending, Dad!Patrick, M/M, What if Rachel was pregnant?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2020-08-10 19:14:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20140585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/klainewarblers/pseuds/klainewarblers
Summary: “Rachel…what…what is going on?”“What are you doing here?! I’ve been texting you for like two days.”“Wait…Patrick is your baby daddy fiancé?”David’s heart stopped. Wait…what? “Uh…I’m sorry, you have a baby and a fiancé?”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Everything up to The Barbeque is canon but then we're going a little off script.

“Let’s just sit back and enjoy the sight of our two strapping men bonding over an open flame.”

It was a warm summer’s day in Schitt’s Creek and the Rose family were holding their very first barbeque. It was all in aid of celebrating the budding romance of David Rose, the eldest child in the family. The morning had started with a delivery of a giant cookie to the Rosebud Motel with a message displaying ‘4 months’ in its pink writing on top of the surprisingly soft baked good. To say David was mortified was an understatement. He’d been telling his boyfriend that they didn’t need to celebrate each month they spent together, worried that they would be tempting fate. And now his entire family, and close friend Stevie, knew that his relationship with Patrick was the longest he’d ever had.

To be 34 and having his longest (also healthiest) relationship only be four months seemed pretty pathetic to David and judging by his family’s reactions, they probably thought so to (though they probably wouldn’t have used the word ‘pathetic’…maybe ‘unfortunate’ though).

It had taken a lot of convincing for David to agree to invite Patrick to the barbeque after the mortifying (but delicious) cookie incident that morning, but it was his mother’s words that had really hit home.

_Embrace joy…_

_He see’s you for all that you are… _

_Stand firmly in the present. _

Patrick was more than David had ever wanted. He’d never been cared about like this. He’d never felt so respected or _wanted_ in his entire life. Patrick wanted him for more than just his body, he wanted _all _of him. If David was being honest, it was overwhelming. But the good kind of overwhelming that always left him craving more.

David followed his mother’s gaze, watching his father and his boyfriend plate the sliders and bring them over to the picnic table where they started to help themselves to the well cooked meats (thanks to Patrick’s assistance – everyone knew Johnny Rose was _useless_ when it came to cooking anything) and a selection of sides that were scattered across the table.

It was at the moment when they were toasting to relationships old and new, David’s heart fluttering in his chest as his eyes met Patrick’s, that everything changed.

“Um, thanks for waiting!”

Everybody turned in their seats to glance at Alexis who came sauntering over, fashionably late as always, holding the hand of some girl-next-door cute girl who had a very swollen tummy. She can’t have been more than 6 months along – David didn’t really do the whole kid thing so he had no clue.

David hadn’t seen this newcomer before but it wasn’t unlike Alexis to bring home strays – he was used to it from their past. Alexis always had new friends, new partners – he honestly didn’t know where she found the time. She can’t have known this pregnant girl long; she hadn’t mentioned meeting some poor knocked up girl.

“Everybody, this is my new friend, Rachel. She’s having a bit of a day.” Alexis said, stroking her hand over the woman’s – Rachel’s – arm. David gave her a warm smile, well as warm as he could muster. He was hungry and this was really taking away from the time he could be spending eating a slider. Or 4.

He frowned then the lady looked past him. “Patrick?” She said, here eyes widening slightly.

David turned in his seat to face Patrick and his frown increased when he saw just how pale he was. He hadn’t really understood the term ‘colour draining from someone’s face’ before this very moment. He could practically see the usually pink hue of Patrick’s soft cheeks fading as he looked between the girl and her large bump.

“Rachel…what…what is going on?”

“What are you doing here?! I’ve been texting you for like two days.”

“Wait…Patrick is your baby daddy fiancé?”

David’s heart stopped. Wait…what? “Uh…I’m sorry, you have a baby and a fiancé?” His voice soft, barely above a whisper. He found feel the now unfamiliar tightening of his chest, a feeling he hadn’t felt since he first moved to Schitt’s Creek and he thought he was having a heart attack.

David could barely hear Patrick stumbling through his words. It sounded tinny, like he was underwater. The whole world felt like it was spinning.

_I knew he was too good to be true. I’m so stupid. I was just a bit of fun while he wasn’t getting any from this pregnant woman. He was just using me. Of course he was just using me. _

“Okay, um, I just think I might need a sec.” He breathed out, shaking standing and climbing out of his seat. Blood was thumping in his ears. His chest was tight and his heart was hammering so fast he thought it might explode. He barely heard the worried noises of his family as they called after him but he was too busy stumbling back to his motel room. A part of him hoped Patrick would follow him. Another part of him wanted Patrick to be far, far away from him.

Patrick of course did follow him. While David paced around the room and tried his best to control his breathing, Patrick explained. David was angry, of course he was angry. This girl had been trying to contact him for _months_ and Patrick hadn’t mentioned a single word about it. He knew next to nothing about Patrick’s past relationships and now he could see why. David could barely register what he was saying – words kept on tumbling from his mouth, and his hands flew around trying to emphasise his points. His arms then fell back into his defensive stance, wrapped around his body to create a barrier, as Patrick stood and walked closer to him.

“No matter how hard I tried with her, it just never felt right…. David, I’ve spent most of my life not knowing what right was supposed to feel like, and then I met you. And everything changed. _You _make me feel right, David.”

“But she’s pregnant…” David whispered, trying to will away the tears that were threatening to fall. What Patrick had said was perhaps the most beautiful thing he’d ever heard, aside from the Downton Christmas Special. But it didn’t matter. Patrick had a baby.

“I didn’t know.” Patrick whispered back. “David I swear to you, I had no idea. I thought Rachel was messaging me about wanting to get back together. I had no idea about…” He dropped back down to the bed and put his head in his hands, huffing out a loud breath.

“You need to talk to her.” David heard himself say a few moments later, finally taking a moment to actually look at Patrick properly. He was still pale. Paler than David had ever seen him, even paler than when he tried to come to the store with the flu (David marched him straight back out and sprayed every single thing Patrick had touched with disinfectant).

“I’ll get to it.” Patrick replied brokenly. “I just don’t want to leave here until I know we’ll be okay.”

David screwed his eyes shut, tightening his arms around his body. “This…this has really messed things up for me. I think I need some time with it.” He said after a long while, his voice sounding weak and small. His heart was pounding so loudly in his chest that he nearly missed the small broken noise Patrick made.

“Alright…” The other man whispered, taking one last look at David before walking out of the motel, the door clicking quietly behind him.

Only then did David let himself cry.


	2. Chapter 2

A loud rapping at the door made David jolt awake. His head was _pounding. _It took him a moment to realise that the pounding headache wasn’t from an alcohol or drug infused evening. No.   
Patrick had a fiancé. A _pregnant_ fiancé. A pregnant fiancé whose baby was definitely, which David knew from a confirmation text from Stevie the evening before, which send him into another round of heavy, ragged breathing and tears that just wouldn’t stop.

It had been four days since the barbeque. Four days since his relationship crumbled with the arrival of Rachel. David hadn’t heard from Patrick since, but he knew that the other man was checking in on him through his friends and family. Alexis could not keep anything hidden. He’d barely had the strength to pull himself out of bed since The Incident.

The incessant knocking continued and David groaned loudly. He didn’t want to see anyone. Not his parents, not Alexis, not Stevie. And definitely not Patrick. The culprit behind the persistent banging turned out to be Stevie who, if David was being honest, was probably the one person he could handle seeing right now. Using her key, she unlocked the motel room and stepped inside, sighing sadly as she saw David lying on his bed, his obnoxious white sunglasses now perched on his face to hide his hideous bags.

“You look crazy.” Stevie muttered, moving to sit on Alexis’ bed. “We’re going out.”

“Nope. No thank you. I decline.”

“It isn’t up for discussion, David. I have a Groupon for a spa. And we’re going.”

“I’m guessing I don’t have much of a choice?”

Three hours later, David found himself wrapped in a hotel robe (he wasn’t going to complain about the scratchy material) with a mud mask on his face, (or complain about the funky texture of the mask) sitting on a pool lounger by the side of a large indoor pool (or mention the unsightly bathing suit choices he had seen).

“How are you feeling?” Stevie asked softly, handing David a glass of complimentary Zhampagne. David took the glass and took three long swigs, almost drinking the whole glass.

“My boyfriend…ex-boyfriend is having a baby with his fiancé. I feel awful.” He said honestly.

“It’s not his fiancé. She was, but they’re not engaged now and I think that’s important.”

“It doesn’t matter, Stevie. He’s still going to have a baby.” He wasn’t going to cry again. He was determined not to cry again. Not here and definitely not in front of Stevie.

Stevie tried for the rest of the evening to cheer him up. She brought him dinner, they watched two Julia Robert’s movies and they even had dessert sent up to their room. It was part-way through the second movie when David’s phone buzzed from where it was placed on the nightstand.

**8:04pm: Can we talk?**

David’s heart faltered as he read the message from Patrick. He knew there’d be point where they had to talk about this, he just didn’t want it to be so soon.

**8:15pm: I’m not at the motel. **

**8.20pm: I know. You’re at the spa with Stevie. She told me she was going to take you there. **

**8:22pm: Oh.**

**8.30pm: So can we talk?**

**8.35pm: I can be there in an hour. **

**8:40 pm: You want to come here?**

**8.42pm: Yes. Unless you don’t want me to. **

**8:45 pm: I don’t know. Maybe.**

**8.47pm: I know you said you needed some time but I really need to talk things through with you. **

**9.00pm: Ok**

An hour later, David made an excuse to Stevie about needing to go to the front desk to ask for extra towels (Stevie, of course, saw right through his obvious lie but didn’t mention anything) and then walked nervously to the main lobby. He sat on one of the couches, his hands clasped firmly in his lap. David didn’t want to see Patrick. Well…he did. He _ached_ for Patrick. Everything just felt so confusing and conflicting.

He knew that Patrick had no idea that Rachel was expecting. Patrick was a decent enough man that he would stick by somebody. He would do the right thing. That was part of the reason why David was so afraid. Would Patrick want him anymore now he was having a baby? Would he want to make things work with Rachel for the baby? Would he move away? Was David ready to date somebody that had a child? There were so many things rushing through David’s mind, so many thoughts and unanswered questions that made his head spin. Maybe seeing Patrick and talking to him would help, David thought.

It didn’t take long for Patrick to arrive. The usually always well together looking Patrick looked awful. He’s short hair looked unkempt, his jumper was loose and creased, he still looked pale and David could spot the bags under his eyes from across the room.

Patrick spotted David and made a beeline for him, sitting silently beside him. There was nobody else in the lobby, just the tired looking clerk behind the front desk.

“Thank you for seeing me.” Patrick said after a long minute of unusual uncomfortable silence. David wasn’t sure whether he trusted himself to speak at the moment so he just nodded. “I wish I could go back and just…just freeze time. Last Sunday. I’d just live in last Sunday for as long as I could.” Patrick finished.

David thought back to last Sunday, trying to recall the time Patrick is referring to. His eyes filled with tears the moment he remembered.

_Ray wasn’t going to be back until after 5pm so they still had the rest of the day together. He’d been gone since lunchtime the day before and they’d closed the store today so they were fully taking advantage of their time together. Patrick had cooked them a beautiful meal, they’d watched a film of his choosing (David did not love this choice but he was all about compromise now…and he may have lasted 20 minutes into the film before nibbling on Patrick’s ear and kissing his neck in ways he knew were distracting) and they’d spent most of their day in bed. It was just the two of them and it was perfect. _

David gulped, thinking back to that glorious day, full of slow lazy kisses, gentle touches and unadulterated passion. 

“I can’t freeze time, David. Everything is just so chaotic right now and I don’t know what to do. I just needed to see you. Patrick turned his body so he could face David properly for the first time. Tears were slipping down his pale cheeks and it shattered David’s heart to see him like this. He cautiously moved his hand between them and placed it on Patrick’s jean clad knee. Within seconds, Patrick’s hand was on-top of David’s, lacing their fingers together tightly.

“I’ve spent some time with Rachel over the past few days. She had no idea about you. She said she never would have barged her way into Schitt’s Creek if she knew I was in a committed relationship. It was never her intention to hurt you or us. She’d tried calling and texting me for so long, trying to arrange a time and place for us to meet so we could talk about the baby. She didn’t want me to find out over text that she was pregnant but she was getting desperate which is why she came here. She hoped we’d meet up somewhere private so she could talk to me. She’s a good person, David.”

The awkward silence settled between them again as David mulled over Patrick’s words. “How…how are you handling this?” He said softly, giving Patrick’s hand a gentle squeeze which was swiftly returned.

“I don’t know. It’s a lot to take in. I don’t think it really feels real. My head feels a little clearer now though.” Another squeeze. David felt his heart clench almost painfully.

“What’s going to happen now?” David asked weakly. It was the question that David dreaded asking but something he so desperately wanted to know. 

“I don’t know, David. Just taking every day as it comes at the moment. The only thing I’m certain of is that I…I can’t lose you, David. My whole life, without even knowing it, I’ve been looking for you. Now that I’ve found you, I don’t want to lose this.”

“Aren’t you going to move back home so you can be closer to Rachel and the baby?”

“My home is here. We’ve building something so meaningful here, David. I don’t want to uproot that.”

“But…” David started.

“No ‘but’. I’ll go home more. Maybe I’ll take the weekends off and go home. Or a few days in the week, I don’t know. Everything’s just so complicated and…and…” Patrick stuttered. His hand flew out of David’s to cover his face as his elbows rested on his knees. A small sob escaped from behind his hands. “I’m scared, David.”

Taking a breath to steady himself, David sat forward and put an arm around Patrick, pulling him towards his chest. Patrick instantly fell into his embrace and nestled himself into his chest as if to seek out as much closeness as he could. He tucked his face into David’s neck and breathed shakily, his tears leaking onto David’s sweater. David held him tightly, his hand hesitantly coming up to rest at the nape of Patrick’s neck to rub his thumb against his sensitive skin, a move that he had learnt Patrick found incredibly soothing.

“You’re allowed to be scared.” David whispered into the top of Patrick’s head. “You just found out your ex-fiancé that you haven’t seen since you broke up is like pretty pregnant. You moved to start afresh and now that chapter you thought you closed has been opened back up.” He felt Patrick relax into him and placed a kiss to his forehead. “I’m scared too. I don’t want to be left behind. Also, you know how I feel about children and I’m worried it will be too much.”

“You won’t get left behind.” Patrick sat up and out one hand on David’s chest, the other on the side of David’s neck. He looked at David desperately, trying to convey how much he believed what was saying. “I know how you feel, David. And I know that this is complicated and messy and difficult but I don’t think I can get through this without you. I understand if you can’t do this. You didn’t ask for any of this.”

David took a breath, looking deeply into Patrick’s eyes. He couldn’t imagine a future with Patrick not in it. Yes, it had only been 4 months. Yes that wasn’t exactly a long length of time together but every possible scenario David played in his head of him being older had Patrick stood firmly beside him. Patrick had changed his life. Patrick had shown him what if felt like to be cared for and respected. Patrick had helped him see that he was deserving of this. David had never imagined a future that had a child in it – he thought they were repulsive and bratty and snotty. But he imagined a future with Patrick. He’d imagined multiple possible futures with Patrick. David wanted a future of Patrick and if that meant there being a child in their life, he could do this.

“I want to be with you.” David whispered. “I can’t promise I won’t freak out or need some space or do the wrong thing, but I want this. I want you. All of you.” He couldn’t hide the tremble in his voice or the tear that slipped down his cheek.

“David…” Patrick almost whimpered, leaning forward to press their foreheads together, his eyes squeezing shut with emotion. “Thank you. Thank you.” David’s arms snaked around Patrick’s waist, pulling him closer still. He has no idea how long they spend just holding each other.

“I need to get back upstairs.” David says reluctantly, his knuckles stroking softly over Patrick’s cheek which now looked a lot less pale. “I told Stevie I was getting towels.”

Patrick chuckled lightly. “Okay. Can I see you when you’re home?”

“Mhm,” David replied softly, leaning in to press a gentle kiss to Patrick’s lips. “Yup.”

They untangled themselves from each other, sharing a few more stolen kisses as they stood. Patrick walked David over to the elevator and kissed him sweetly one last time.

When David got back to his shared room, Stevie was sat up in bed scrolling through her phone. She looked up from the screen and smiled at him. “How did it go with the towels?” She asked.

“Oh.” He looked at his empty hands. “Yeah. It uh. It worked out though. I think.”

“Good. I’m happy for you David.”

“Thanks.”

David knew they weren’t talking about the towels.


	3. Chapter 3

In the month that followed, David and Patrick’s relationship returned to normal. Well, almost normal. Patrick would travel back to his hometown every once and a while to see Rachel and go to various doctor’s appointments or birthing classes (David was open to hearing about all of this apart from the birthing classes. The less he thought about that, the better). Each time, Patrick would come back both more excited and more nervous.

It was a difficult adjustment having Patrick away for a few days at a time as it meant David had to be at the store sometimes on his scheduled days off. It also felt strange that Patrick was spending so much time with his ex-fiancé. David wasn’t jealous. He knew Patrick was gay. Very gay. But Patrick and Rachel had so much history together and were sharing an experience that David, though important in Patrick’s life, would never really be a part of.

The newest trip that Patrick came back from saw him buzzing about baby names. Rachel hadn’t wanted to find out the sex of the baby so all names were on the table.

“How about Bella?” Patrick asked. He was leaning against the counter with a notebook in front of him and he was twiddling a pen in his hands. The lunchtime rush at the store was over and they were both thankful for a bit of quiet time.

David’s face screwed up. “Uh. Too Twilight.”

“Jennifer?”

“Mm…A solid choice. But she’d have a lot of name-sakes to live up to and with your acting talents, I’m not too sure she’d be up to it. I like Symphonie.”

Patrick smirked as he looked at David. “Symphonie? The first name you suggest to me is Symphonie?”

David shrugged as he fiddled with the lip balms in front of the cash. “I like it. It’s different.”

“I’m not saying I don’t like it. It’s a very strong name. I think Rachel is just looking for something a bit more classic.”

“Charlotte is a nice name. Also Elizabeth. Catherine too. And if you’re thinking boy’s names, Harry is nice. So is Archie, George, Louis…”

“David, are you naming British Royals?” Patrick asked, his eyes squinting as he thought about David’s name choices.

“You said Rachel wanted classic names. She can’t get more classic than the Royal Family.”

Patrick had a fond smile on his face as he put his pen down, walking around the register before resting his hands on David’s hips. David’s arms slipped comfortably onto Patrick’s shoulders where he gave them a light squeeze. “I think they’re wonderful names. Thank you for suggesting them.” Patrick whispered, before leaning in and kissing David lightly on the lips.

*

Two weeks later, a very _very _pregnant Rachel waddled into the store, Patrick guiding her inside. There were only a few weeks before the baby was due to arrive and heavens knows why, but Rachel was adamant that she wanted to spend the weekend in Schitt’s Creek. Patrick had been instant that she shouldn’t be travelling in her condition (“_I’m pregnant, not dying!” She had barked down the phone) _but Rachel wasn’t having any of it.

David had been nervous to see her. He had no idea what to say to a pregnant woman, especially one who was carrying his boyfriend’s baby, but Patrick had been nothing but reassuring about the whole situation and had given him advice on things he probably shouldn’t say to her. (“_Pregnant women are temperamental. Try to imagine being me when I talk to you either before you’ve had a coffee or if you haven’t eaten in a long time. Temperamental.”)_

David side stepped to the wooden chair in the corner and slid it out a little, motioning to it. He didn’t usually let customers sit on his beautiful hand carved masterpieces, but he’d make an exception here.

“Thank you, David.” Rachel puffed out, sitting down on the chair with a gentle thump, her hand moving to cradle her stomach.

“I told you I should have driven here.” Patrick grumbled, watching the way Rachel caught her breath. He reached out to David and squeezed his hand as a hello.

“I can see the café from here. It wouldn’t have made any sense to drive.”

“But now you’re….”

“Okay!” David interrupted, clasping his hands together. “Can I get anybody a drink? I’ve just refilled the complimentary water pitcher. I went for an apricot and orange infusion. I read that they are rich with antioxidants and are good for expectant mothers.”

“That would be wonderful, thank you.” Rachel said with a smile. “Wow. Patrick, I know you said David had designed this place but I didn’t think it would be so stunning. I can see you’ve both worked really hard here.”

“Thanks. The designing falls under my domain. Patrick tries but his eye for interior design is lacking.” David says as he pours from the pitcher into a glass (no BPA ridden plastic cups for the pregnant lady) and flashed Patrick a fond smile.

“Hey! I think I’ve improved.” Patrick said defensively, but his bright smile showed he took no offence.

“I know, honey.” David affectionately kissed Patrick’s cheek and handed the glass to Rachel who took it with a tearful smile.

“I’m glad you’ve found each other. I can see how happy you are.”

David froze, hearing the emotion in Rachel’s voice and seeing the tears slip down her cheek. He moved himself away from Patrick and defensively folded his arms over his chest.

“Oh. No, no, David.” Rachel said quickly, brushing her tear away. “I’m not upset. Honestly. I’m happy. I’m happy that Patrick has found someone to make him happy, that’s all.”

His shoulders relaxed a little and he huffed out a breath. Patrick’s arm came to wrap around his waist and he grinned. “See, I told you she was nice.”

As soon as Rachel got her breath back, she wanted to hear all about the store and David was completely happy to oblige. He was immensely proud of what he had Patrick had created with Rose Apothecary and always revelled in the opportunity to talk through all of his products. He recommended a few items to Rachel and was pleased when she took a keen interest in the body milk as it had ingredients that helped with stretch marks (David had done a lot of research recently). Rachel stayed at the store for an hour before she started to get tired. She was staying with Patrick at Ray’s for the night but luckily for them, Ray was at a wedding this weekend and wasn’t back for a few days. Rachel did _not_ need to be subjected to Ray. Patrick went with her to get her settled but returned just as David was closing up the store.

The jingle of the bell made David look up from where he was sweeping the door. He smiled as Patrick lent up against the counter, arms folded, an absolute treasure of a smile on his face. David put the broom away and walked over to Patrick.

“You made quite the impression on Rachel. I think she wants to steal you away from me.”

“Mm, not going to be an issue.” David’s arms snaked around Patrick’s neck and Patrick’s hands rested on David’s hips, a very familiar position they fell into routinely.

“You were amazing. Thank you for being so amazing.” Patrick said softly, kissing David gently. David sighed contently against his lips and then pulled back to rest their foreheads together.

“A few things arrived just as you left. I wanted to show Rachel too but I guess there’s tomorrow.” Patrick’s eyebrow quirked up curiously as David pulled away and rushed into the back room, coming back with a big box and a smaller packet resting on top. He struggled to get it around the corner, grunting (totally not overdramatically) as he rested it on the counter in the middle of the store.

“You been going to the gym because that looked effortless?”

“It’s just a very awkwardly shaped box, but yes I have and thank you for noticing.” David moved the smaller packet onto the table and opened the larger box, pulling out a few bottles. “So I’ve been in touch with a vendor a few towns over. I usually don’t like to go that far out but I was asking around, doing some research, and I came across Lydia. Lydia makes soaps and cleaning products that are just for babies. Well…the cleaning products aren’t for babies, babies can’t clean floors, but they’re totally nontoxic and safe to use around babies.” David set out a few more products and then looked at Patrick. Patrick’s lower lip was pulled up and he looked between David and the products in awe.

“You really did this?”

“Mhm.” David nodded, twisting the bottles so the label faced outwards. “I was going to put them out tonight. I was speaking to Jocelyn about her baby shower this morning and we’re going to hold it here next week. I told her about the products and she can’t wait to try them. She thinks they’ll sell really well. I didn’t realise there was such a market for baby things.” He trailed off, not noticing that Patrick had come up behind him. He gently grabbed David’s face and pulled him into a searing kiss, pouring all of the emotions he felt into it. When Patrick pulled back, his eyes were filled with tears.

“This is amazing, David. I can’t even put into words how amazing this is. Thank you.”

David preened at the compliment. “There’s one more thing. It’s not for the store, it’s for you. Well, the baby.” He reached for the small packet and handed it to Patrick.

“You…you got something for the baby?” Patrick asked softly.

“Open it.”

Patrick carefully opened the packet and pulled out a tiny baby outfit. It wasn’t just any baby outfit, it was a tiny baseball uniform which, when Patrick turned it around, had ‘BREWER’ and Patrick’s number 12 on the back. “David…” Patrick whispered, tears brimming in his eyes. “David this….this….come here.” He tugged David towards him and pulled him into a fierce hug. David laughed softly and hugged Patrick back tighter, kissing his temple and running his hands along his back. Just when David thought all of the air was going to be squeezed from his body, Patrick pulled back and smiled.

“David Rose, I love you.”

Oh.

_Oh._

This was new. This was big. Nobody had ever told him they loved him before (aside from his family) and David had definitely not said it to anybody who wasn’t his parents or Mariah Carey. It wasn’t that he didn’t love Patrick, just hearing him say it was just so overwhelming.

He must have paused for too long because Patrick squeezed his arm. “I don’t expect you to say it back to me right now, you say it when you’re ready. It just felt right to me in the moment. You’re my Mariah Carey.”

Now it was David’s turn to get emotional. His hands moved from Patrick’s shoulder to cover his mouth and his head tipped back, his face scrunching up. “Okay…that compliment could bring me to tears but I’m not going to let it.” Patrick’s smile made David’s knees week. “I love you.” David whispered back. Tears rushed to his eyes but David didn’t care that he went back on his word of not crying.

This was one of those perfect moments that people dream about and it was all theirs. 

Only their perfect moment didn’t last long.

Patrick’s phone buzzed wildly from his pocket which made him groan. He was sprawled out on a blanket in the back room with David between his thighs and nuzzling sweet kisses into his neck. ‘”It’s Rachel.” Patrick said, shifting so he could sit up.

“Woah woah, calm down.” Patrick rushed. David pulled away from Patrick and looked at him with concern. “Okay…okay, stay where you are. I’ll be there in 10.” Patrick dropped his phone to the floor and looked at David with wide eyes.

“The baby’s coming.”


	4. Chapter 4

David had never liked hospitals. They were stuffy, the walls were always an awful shade of magnolia and the faint smell of bleach always stung his nose. He’d avoided hospitals throughout most of his life (apart from when he saw his grandmother for the last time when he was 10 and then again for his nose surgery at 13) but now he was back again, sat in an uncomfortable blue plastic chair listening to the static-y television in the waiting room.

Rachel was having a baby.

David tried his hardest to be the calm figure that Patrick needed as they rushed to Ray’s after they had a phone call from Rachel. Patrick was always the unflappable one but he was definitely very not calm. Rachel told them that not long after Patrick left, she started getting twinges in her back and stomach. They kept getting more painful so she ran herself a bath to try to relax. It wasn’t until she was out of the bath and reached the bed that she realised that _fuck_, this was labour. They’d phoned the hospital and sought out advice from a nurse who told them not to come in until she contractions were closer together. David sat awkwardly on the couch, bringing up water and other various things that were being requested and catching small infrequent naps when he could. It took a few hours until it was time to go to the hospital.

Which was where David was now. Patrick had told him to go home the last time he left Rachel’s side to see him. He knew he was a totally spare part but he had this nagging feeling that he couldn’t leave (even though he wanted to). He wanted to be here for the man that he loved. _Loved! _

The sound of squeaking shoes across the vinyl floor of the hospital made David look up and he couldn’t hide his smile when he saw Stevie. He’d text her a few hours ago but it was the early hours of the morning when he did so he was expecting a text soon, he was definitely not expecting her to be here. She still had on her pyjama pants, her hoodie was zipped up and she had on two different coloured Converse but she was here.

“Stevie!” David stood up and pulled her into a hug. They didn’t really do hugs but hey, he’d told someone he loved them and now he was about to have a baby so yeah, he was doing hugs right now.

“How are you? How’s Patrick? How’s Rachel? How’s the baby?” She rushed, pulling back so she could look at David.

“Still no baby. Patrick’s okay, panicking but okay. He said Rachel is doing amazing. Patrick said I could go and sit with them but I haven’t gone in there. It doesn’t seem like my place.” They both sat down on the plastic chairs as David talked through the events of last night and this morning. It was around 7am now and Rachel had called about 12 hours previously. “Obviously I knew this was going to happen but I can’t believe that Patrick is about to be a dad. We thought she had weeks.”

“He’s going to be a great Dad. And you’ll be a great step-dad.”

David’s face screwed up. “Ew. No. Let’s take ‘step-dad’ off the table and never mention that again.”

A comfortable silence fell between the two of them as they switched their attention between the TV playing some morning talk show and people watching the interesting characters that walked by the waiting room.

Another hour passed and David was asleep, his head propped on Stevie’s shoulder. She didn’t mind. She could tell how tired he was. She knew how difficult this last month or so had been for David and she tried to be there for him as much as she could. If that meant being a pillow so he could catch a few minutes of sleep, that’s what she’d do. She also took a moment to drop Mr Rose a text to explain that she wouldn’t be in for a few hours and why. Knowing Mr Rose, he’d probably get Roland to man the motel and the whole Rose clan would be here within the hour. She didn’t think David would mind. If anything (and he would never say), he’d probably appreciate the support of his family right now.

“Is there are David Rose here?” A nurse called from the door a long while later, looking around at the sparsely filled waiting room. Stevie jolted David awake who blinked sleepily at her.

“Wha…”

“He called your name.”

David stood up, indicating to the doctor that he was David and the nurse walked up to them. “Hi, David. My name is George. Patrick is asking for you. There’s someone he wants you to meet.”

“Oh my god.” David breathed. “Oh my god.”

Stevie stood beside David and put a hand on his shoulder. “This is it.” 

“Oh my god.” David said again.

“David. David!” Stevie shook him a little and made him turn to face her. “You can do this. He needs you. It’s just a brand-new tiny human. Patrick’s brand-new tiny human.”

“Okay I know you think you’re helping but you’re very much not.” David breathed out, his hands curling into fists, an action he repeats when he’s overwhelmed.

“Give him a big congratulations from me. And to Rachel.”

David followed behind the nurse, walking the long magnolia halls of the hospital until they stopped at a room. He tentatively pushed the door open after asking the nurse twice whether he was sure he was allowed in. The first thing he saw was a very sleepy looking Rachel tucked up in a hospital bed in the centre of the room. A nurse was checking the monitor by her bedside as he stepped inside. She gave him a weak wave, then pointed across the room. He looked to where she was pointing and his heart thumped at the sight.

Patrick was stood cradling a tiny bundle in his arms, the softest look David had ever seen planted on his face. When he heard David step closer, he tore his gaze away from what was in his arms and grinned. “Hi.”

“Hi. Congratulations. Both of you.” He turned to look at Rachel too and smiled in return to her bright smile. Even though she had _literally_ just given birth, she was still so beautiful.

“Come and meet my son.” Patrick whispered.

“Your son? David closed the gap between them and peered down at the bundle in his arms. He had practiced the types of things you should say at this moment. He’d seen plenty of pictures of new-borns and honestly, David thought they looked like gremlins He didn’t understand how people could look at the very pink tiny gremlins and think they were cute when they categorically were not, which is why David had to practice faking sincerity.

David, however, didn’t have to fake any form of sincerity. The tiny bundle contained the tiniest, cutest little thing David had ever seen. He was too pink (as babies were) but he was completely precious. He had Patrick’s tiny little button nose and the cutest little lips. “He’s beautiful.” David whispered, unable to take his eyes off of the baby. “Honestly, he’s beautiful.”

Patrick beamed proudly as he watched the man he was completely in love with stare in awe at his child. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rachel pick up her phone and snap of picture of the two of them. “Do you want to hold him?” Patrick asked gently.

“What? Oh. Oh, no. This is your time. I don’t want to intrude.”

“It’s fine, David.” Both Rachel and Patrick said at the same time, making them all smile.

“I uh…I don’t know how to do this. Hold it. Him. Hold him. I don’t know how.” David fumbled.

“David, sit down on the couch.” Rachel said sweetly, pointing to the blue couch under the window. “Patrick will help.”

David nodded and followed her instructions, sitting nervously on the couch. Patrick carefully sat down beside him and explained how David needed to hold the baby. “You’ll be fine, David.” Patrick said sweetly as he handed over the bundle. Once the baby was in his arms, his head supported carefully like Patrick instructed, David honestly couldn’t look away. He didn’t hate this. He really thought he’d hate this but he totally didn’t. He carefully lifted one arm and with a gentle finger, he traced it over the baby’s soft plush cheek and over his plump lips. He felt Patrick put an arm around him and rest his chin against his shoulder. When he finally managed to look away from the baby, David turned his head and pressed a gentle kiss to Patrick’s lips. “I love you.” He mumbled.

“I love you too, David.”

They both looked down at the baby for a few moments longer.

“So.” David started after a while. “Have you decided on a name for this beautiful little thing?” He looked over at Rachel who was still beaming over towards them.

“We were stuck between two boy’s names for a while but the moment we met him, we knew.” Rachel said.

Patrick smiled over to Rachel, then back at David. “David, this is Joseph James Brewer-Nash.”

“JJ.” David whispered.

“Mhm, JJ for short.”

“He looks like a Joseph.” David resumed tracing his fingertip over Joseph’s sweet little face. “You guys really made a beautiful baby.”

David (reluctantly) handed back baby Joseph a little while later but stayed in the room for a bit longer. He tried to stop his face from showing how much he really didn’t want to know details of the birth as Rachel spoke, but he couldn’t help but beam with pride along with Patrick as he heard about how brilliantly supportive he was throughout.

He said his goodbyes to Rachel and promised to pop back after he’d slept for a few hours, then headed out into the waiting room with Patrick right behind him. Patrick had plans of returning after he’d said a proper goodbye to David. Neither one of them expected to see what they did when they entered the waiting room.

There waiting in the middle of the room was the whole Rose family (and Stevie and Ted). They all looked very tired (Moira in particular looked most unimpressed to be up this early) but each and every one of them broke out into a grin when they saw Patrick and David.

“Congratulations!” They all exclaimed at completely different times (and David was pretty sure Moira said something entirely different). They all held up the various gifts or balloons they had in their arms and waved them about excitedly.

“You guys! This is too much! Thank you!” Patrick said excitedly, his voice thick with emotion. He shook hands, gave hugs and polite kisses in greeting, then proudly showed photos of his new-born son. David stood back a little, watching with a smile.

It had taken a while for the Rose’s to warm back up to Patrick after the shock last month. Slowly but surely, each member of the Rose family fell back in love with Patrick and they were all wonderfully supportive of him. This particular moment was a pinnacle of that support.

“It means so much to me that you came. Rachel’s pretty tired at the moment and don’t think she’d be up for more visitors but before Rachel goes home, I’ll bring Joseph over so you can be properly introduced. I really should be getting back to them.” Before Patrick made tracks back to Rachel and Joseph, he tugged David to the side, just slightly out of earshot of the Rose’s.

“Would you be mad if I said I wanted to spend a week or so with Rachel and the baby when she leaves?” Patrick asked gently.

“Of course not.” David said truthfully. “You have a _son_, Patrick. You can spend as much time with him as you want.”

“You can come too.” Patrick said, not asking but there was a twinge of hopefulness in his voice.

“This is your time with him. You need to be with him and Rachel. I get that. And I’ll be right here when you get back.”

“I love you, David Rose.” Patrick said softly, his words mirroring the ones he said the night before.

“I love you too. Now. You go back to your son. I’m going to go and get some sleep. It’s been a long twelve hours.” David pulled Patrick into a tight hug and kissed his temple. “I’ll see you later.”

*

When David woke up 9 hours later, he had a text from Patrick that contained 3 pictures.

The first was a picture of just baby Joseph sleeping.

The second was of David and Patrick standing in the hospital room, baby in Patrick’s arms beaming happily and David looking down at the baby in awe.

The third was David’s favourite. They were sat on the couch, baby Joseph soundly asleep in David’s arms and he could just about make out the smile that they had on their lips as they kissed.

He was going to ask Stevie to print them so he could frame them. It was a moment he truly wanted to treasure.


	5. Chapter 5

Much like anniversaries, Patrick (unsurprisingly) loved to celebrate Joseph’s monthly ‘birthdays’. Stevie had joked that Patrick was going to be one of those parents who annoyingly always described their child’s birthday in months _(“Yes my child is 32 months old.” _She had cackled one night). Though David pulled against the idea of celebrating monthly, he didn’t mind it at all when he came to celebrating Joseph. He’d grown terribly fond of the tiny little thing and had travelled with Patrick occasionally to see him over the last five months of his life.

Joseph was now 6 months old and Patrick was positively _buzzing_. Rachel was bringing Joseph to Schitt’s Creek and was staying at the motel. David read up a lot about baby proofing and made sure that the motel room had been set up appropriately. He’d helped Patrick select a crib and even picked out new sheets that he knew Rachel would love. There was no way that he was letting Rachel (or baby Joseph) anywhere near these old motel sheets. David had also put together a little hamper of things for the store which he placed on the bed. He’d carefully selected some new products (all were baby safe, David checked. Twice. Three times) and also made sure to include ones that he knew Rachel loved. She was an avid user of Rose Apothecary’s new ‘for baby’ and baby safe products – David had even made sure to send her products when she said she was running low.

The Rose’s were also very excited for Rachel’s arrival. The last time they saw Joseph was two days after he was born, but they were all on a text chain were Patrick would send them multiple pictures to keep them all updated.

Patrick would travel back and forth so he could see his son and also work at the store. It was a bit of a strain at first. There had been a few arguments and one particularly difficult moment where David thought Patrick was going to end things (it was never on the cards, David was an avid overthinker), but they had settled on a routine that worked for them. Two months ago, they’d hired Amanda to work at the store. She’d been trained up – David was _very _thorough during this process – and she was able to run the store 2 days a week so David could have some time off to either get some rest or go with Patrick to see Joseph.

David didn’t expect it to be like this. He thought he would find it more difficult. He thought he would find it uncomfortable. He expected to feel more jealousy or animosity towards Rachel but he didn’t feel any of that. He’d grown to really like Rachel in these past few months, and she liked him too. She had been so great in letting David into their lives and always encouraged his interactions with Joseph. He could really see why Patrick loved her for so long. He also didn’t expect to love Joseph as much as he did. Before he was born, he thought he would tolerate Patrick’s child. Perhaps grow to like it eventually when it stopped being so whiny and snotty. David didn’t really believe in love in first sight, but it was totally real and he knew from the moment he met Joseph that he loved him. He could see so much of Patrick in him and it made his heart soar. Truth be told, he still wasn’t overly keen on children. It was just Joseph.

*

“Amanda, I’m done with these balloons. Can you take over?” David slid off of the counter from where was sitting and pinned up the second balloon. “That’s harder than it looks. I don’t know why Patrick insisted on these monstrosities. I told him it would look much chicer if we stuck to draped fabrics and perhaps a stylish garland or two.”

“Kids like bright colours.” Amada said, moving away from where she was restocking one of the shelves to continue blowing up the brightly coloured balloons.

“Hm. Actually black and white is meant to be more stimulating for a baby. I read that somewhere. So really this should be a black and white party, not a ‘let’s use every colour imaginable and give David a headache’ party.”

Amanda had learnt very quickly to not argue against David and just smile and nod. Patrick had taught her that after David had given her a very long arduous lecture on the importance of lines, not rows after he had seen her trying to reorganise one of the table displays. Now, unless David was about to do something very silly, Amanda just smiled and nodded at most of what David said.

“What time are they coming?” Amanda asked as she tied one of the balloons.

“Patrick is driving back with them now. He’s taking them to the motel and the party starts at 4.”

“It’s only 10.30.” The girl commented.

“I want it to look nice for Joseph. I have so make some sort of sense of this colour pallet. Did you see the streamers he picked out? What does he expect me to do with these!?” David exclaimed, pulling out fistfuls of multicoloured paper streamers.

“I used to decorate the house for my little sister’s birthday all the time. Don’t worry. Leave this to me.”

True to her word, Amanda handled everything. Though David wasn’t keen on the myriad of colour, he appreciated that Amanda was able to put it together in a way that didn’t make David’s head ache. He hoped everyone liked it.

*

Rachel was incredibly impressed at the effort that David (also Patrick) had gone into to make the motel room feel as comfortable and as cosy as possible. When David had arrived at the motel a little while after Rache, he’d proudly pointed out all of the ways he’d baby-proofed the room. He maybe got a little overboard and it was now very difficult to open the toilet lid, and maybe he’d also covered the socket that was midway up the wall that was so far out of Joseph’s reach, but David wasn’t couldn’t be too careful. As David explained, he missed the shared grin between Rachel and David. They both loved how involved David was and how much he cared so much. A lot of their conversations revolved around David during Patrick’s visits. It started off a little awkwardly when Rachel was pregnant – Patrick never wanted to bring up David in case it made things uncomfortable, but Rachel was usually the one now to bring up David. Neither of them had expected David to be so positive.

Baby Joseph was currently asleep in his holder, having slept for most of the 3-hour drive. According to Patrick he was up most of the night testing his lung capacity (David assumed that meant he was crying) so they were just letting him sleep. David’s gaze kept flickering to the sleeping baby as Patrick made them a tea with the in-room kettle (Patrick was on strict instructions to make sure the kettle was placed back into the high cupboard, out of reach of tiny humans). David had only seen him a few weeks ago but he already looked much bigger. His heart stuttered when he realised that Joseph was clad in a mini baseball uniform, the one that David had purchased before he was born. He carefully sat himself down on the bed beside Joseph’s holder.

He hadn’t been to the motel in a few weeks so it felt weird sitting on one of the beds. A few months ago, Patrick had moved out of Ray’s and into his own apartment. It wasn’t very big but it was enough. It was _Patrick’s _space which meant that they had a place all to themselves. David spent more time at Patrick’s than he did at the motel. He felt weird at first, staying there when Patrick had travelled to Rachel’s, but Patrick had pretty much insisted that it was okay. It wasn’t really official that David was living there, but each week more and more of his clothes ended up beside Patrick’s in the closest. Patrick had even given him his own side and had 2 drawers clear just for him.

“Should we tell him yet?” Rachel asked, sitting on the sofa at one end of the room and sipping her tea. David looked up, confused.

“Tell me what?”

Patrick lent down and kissed David on the forehead. “I didn’t say anything because I knew you’d…” Patrick paused, trying to find a way to phrase the rest of what he wanted to say. “…overthink this. Rachel is staying at the motel for 2 nights.”

“Yup. I know that. Is that meant to be the thing?” He asked, even more confused. Rachel laughed from across the room. She really was fond of David.

“I never said how long Joseph was staying for.” Patrick finished, quirking up his eyebrow.

David looked at the sleeping baby, his eyebrows furrowed. “He can’t stay at the motel by himself.” He said quietly.

“No, baby.” Patrick said softly. “He’s staying with us for a whole week. We’re going to move this crib into my apartment.”

“I’m going to visit a friend in Ohio. I haven’t had much time to myself and even though it’s going to suck being away from him for a week, I know he’s in great hands.”

David had completely frozen. “But…but…” He stuttered. “It’s not baby-proofed. It took me a week to do this place.” He stood up and ran a hand through his hair frantically. “I’ll need to get more cupboard locks and covers for the wall sockets and rubber thingies to cover sharp corners and…and…” Patrick put down his tea and put his warm hands on the side of David’s face to calm him. Rachel watched on with a sweet smile. Patrick had said he’d react like this and he totally wasn’t wrong.

“Hey…hey. Look at me.” He said softly. “It’s fine. You’re okay, David. We can go to the store tomorrow and pick up a few things. Our apartment is perfectly safe for JJ. The car is full of things that he loves. We can do this.”

_God_ David loved him.

“Okay.” He breathed softly.

“Okay.” Patrick repeated, giving him a gentle kiss on the temple.

*

The little ‘half birthday’ party at the store went off without a hitch. Rachel loved how David (Amanda) had decorated the store and everyone loved getting to see baby Joseph again. Johnny commented on Joseph’s tiny baseball uniform and Patrick very proudly said it was all David’s doing.

Joseph spent most of the afternoon in David’s arms. It hadn’t been a conscious decision – he just found himself navigating towards whoever was holding him and taking him back. When David wasn’t holding him, he had Joseph stood on the table in the middle of the store with David supporting him carefully. Joseph was a very strong baby and liked to look around the room but mainly he just looked up at David, babbling happily.

His entire family would just watch him in complete awe. Nobody thought for a second that David would be like this but nonetheless, they were incredibly proud.

*

Two days later, Rachel was gone and Patrick and David were left alone with Joseph. The previous day was spent with David panic buying extra things to make the apartment as baby-proof as possible. Patrick had tried to argue against it but quickly just let David get on with it. David wouldn’t let Rachel enter with Joseph until he was completely satisfied that the entire apartment was safe.

Patrick was busy setting up the bottle steriliser and putting away the milk supplies, so David busied himself with watching Joseph wiggle and kick and babble on the play-mat he had put down earlier. David thought it was weirdly fascinating how much Joseph had changed since the first time he’d met him. He was turning into an actual person with his own mind. David knew the kinds of things he liked (cuddles, having his back stroked, pureed fruits, Moira’s shiny jacket) and the things that he didn’t like (feet tickles, avocado, Patrick’s obnoxiously loud sneezes when he was around cats, Roland). He thought it was crazy that such a little person could have these opinions.

“How’s he doing?” Patrick called from the kitchen.

“He’s telling me all about the importance of using proper diaper rash cream. He’s making some excellent points.” David replied with a faint smile.

“Oh. Is the one we use not good enough?”

“No. He likes that one. It’s from the store so obviously it’s good.”

“Ah, I see.” Patrick came to sit beside David, giving him a kiss on the cheek as he did so.

The first evening with Joseph in the apartment was eventual. It seemed that Joseph was nocturnal and didn’t like sleeping during the designated hours. David had grumbled and buried his head under the pillow the first few times Joseph started screaming. Patrick got up each time and soothed him, changed his diaper or given him a bottle but within the hour, Joseph was crying again.

At around 4am, Josephs cries woke David again. He cracked his eyes open and looked over to Patrick who looked _exhausted_. “I’ve got him.” He whispered. “You sleep.” David kissed a very sleepy Patrick on the forehead and climbed out of bed, scooping the crying baby into his arms.

“Hey, little man.” He whispered affectionally, jostling Joseph in his arms. “Your daddy is really trying to sleep. So is your uncle David.” Joseph started to settle but was still mewling against David’s chest. He moved to sit on the sofa and settled the baby on his lap. Joseph nestled into David, his tiny little fists screwing up in David’s lightweight sweater. “Okay, but don’t slobber on this. It’s dry clean only.”

David felt tiredness wash over him so he repositioned himself so he could lie down on the couch. He placed Joseph on his chest and held him securely with one arm, while his other hand traced light patterns over the baby’s back in a way he knew he liked.

“David….baby.” David felt a soft kiss on his forehead and a gentle hand on his cheek as his eyes flickered open. Patrick was smiling down at him. “Hey you. It’s almost 9.”

David shuffled a little, then looked down what was heavy on his chest. Joseph was still sleeping soundly, a little puddle of drool beside his open mouth. “I told him not to do that.” He grumbled sleepily.

“Amanda said she’s fine to open the store. She said to come in when we’re ready, no rush.”

David nodded and unconsciously ran his hand up and down Joseph’s back. “He’s still sleeping.”

“Mhm. I’ve been up for over an hour and he’s completely out for the count. I’ve made his breakfast and I’m just about to make pancakes” Patrick said happily. “I know I say this all the time, but you really are excellent with him.”

“Mm, it’s because I know I’ll get pancakes.” David joked in reply, humming contently as Patrick leaned in for a slow kiss. He liked morning kisses. He liked them a lot.

“He should be fine if I move him to the crib. We should probably wake him soon anyway.” Patrick moved to take Joseph but David shook his head. “He’s okay here. I’ll wake him. You make pancakes.”

Once Patrick had moved to the kitchen, David set about waking up Joseph. He’d seen Joseph before when he was rudely awoken and knew that that was definitely something Joseph didn’t like. Plus, David wanted to avoid any potential screaming so soon after he had woken up. He had to be gentle. He ran his fingers over Joseph’s back, then his head, then his little squishy face. He smiled when Joseph shuffled and a few seconds later, his tiny blue eyes blinked open. “Good morning, handsome.” David said softly as Joseph lifted his head and stretched out his little limbs. “I assume you had a nice sleep, seeing as you left a slobber puddle on me.”

Joseph gave David a very sleepy, very gummy smile, then dropped his head back to David’s chest. David carefully sat up, groaning at how sore his muscles were. It was a comfy couch but definitely not a good couch for anything longer than a brief nap. He then shuffled into the kitchen, Joseph’s sleepy head dropped onto his shoulder. Patrick instantly put down the spatula and wrapped his arms around his two boys, kissing them both on the forehead.

They could absolutely get used to this.

*

Joseph easily settled in to a new routine with David and Patrick. Each day, they would take him to the store where he happily played in an area that David had specifically set up for him. He would alternate between playing in there, napping in the travel cot they had bought, or babbling happily in either Patrick or David’s arms. Though reluctant at first, claiming that it clashed with whatever he wore, David had taken to wearing the body baby carrier at times so he could still do things around the store and have Joseph with him. Patrick had brought it not long after JJ was born and both he and Rachel got a lot of use out of it. Now it was David’s turn.

Patrick was on a trip to the next town over to pick up a few things from a new vendor while David stayed at the store with JJ. He was terrified about being left alone with the baby but Patrick, ever his charming self, had reassured him that everything would be okay and that he trusted him completely. JJ was in his carrier, facing out, his legs kicking about happily. David was putting a few things away on the shelf, taking nonsensically to Joseph, who just babbled back as if answering him. Patrick was always amazed at how vocal JJ was when he was with David. He’d make noises when he was with Patrick or Rachel, but was just constantly ‘talking’ when he was with David. Maybe it was because David never used a baby voice with him – just a softer one – and spoke to him in full sentences. Nobody really knew.

The jingle above the door alerted David to the presence of a customer so he turned to face the door (at the exactly same time as JJ) and smiled. His eyes widened a little when Tina, a potential for a business deal, from Premium Parties walked through the door. He wasn’t expected to see her until next week. He really wanted to source everything for one of her top client’s baby shower in over a month’s time, which was why they had a meeting set up for next week. He was totally unprepared to see her now.

“Tina! Tina, hi. Hi. I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting you.”

“Oh I know. I’m sorry for just dropping by. I was in the area and I thought I would come and look around. I hope that’s okay.”

JJ gurgled, kicking his little feet, displeased with being ignored by this newcomer. “Oh! Oh, I didn’t know you had a little guy.” Tina bent down and stroked JJ’s plump cheek.

“Yeah….” David started awkwardly. “His dad is just out right now but he should be back anytime.”

Tina laughed and started talking about how men always had ‘emergencies’ as excuses to be away for hours at a time. David just laughed awkwardly and played along. He wanted to make a good impression with this potential big money client.

“It must be so handy having this little guy around to test out your products. I just love your baby range. My two year old can’t get enough of the bubble bath and I can’t get enough of the baby-safe disinfectant – I use it every day!”

Tina stayed at the store for well over an hour, talking animatedly about the products. JJ spent most of the time cooing and babbling happily away to himself, often in response to whatever David was saying which Tina kept commenting was the sweetest thing. “Listen, David. I know we were meant to be having a proper meeting next week but I am just so impressed with everything you’ve done here. I would love for you to be my new vendor.” David was absolutely thrilled – this was not how the thought the day would pan out! “I know it’s such short notice but I have another baby shower pencilled in for next week. I would love for you to work with me on that.”

“I’d love that.”

Just then, the bell above the door dinged and Patrick walked in, a huge smile plastered on his face as he saw David and JJ (still strapped to his chest, still kicking away contently).

“And this must be other dad!” Tina said excitedly, reaching out to shake Patrick’s hand. “It is so nice to meet you. I’ve just been spending the afternoon with your two special guys.”

David beamed at Patrick, who grinned even wider when JJ reached out to wrap his chubby little hand around one of Patrick’s fingers. “Well, I should probably let you two dads get on with your family time. It was a pleasure meeting you all. David, I’ll call you later in the week.”

They said their goodbyes and Tina left, leading to David excitedly telling Patrick all about what happened.

“And it was so weird because she totally thought I was his dad. She said I was a natural at this and that we pulled the same facial expressions.” David laughed, carefully extracting JJ from the holder so he could put him down for a nap in his cot. “Though I don’t know whether to be offended because he’s a little constipated at the moment and he lets everyone know it.”

“Is that so hard to believe?” Patrick asked softly, a hand coming to rest on the small of his back.

“What, that we pull the same expressions? Because…”

“No.” Patrick gave David a soft smile. “That you’re a natural at being a dad.”

David frowned deeply. “But I’m not his dad.”

“Not in the biological sense but you are definitely a father figure in his life.” Patrick was treading carefully. David could be skittish, like a tiny frightened kitten sometimes, so didn’t want to say anything that would have him sprinting out the door before he could even blink. “You care about him so much. When you’re with him…David, it’s so natural. I know sometimes you think you have no clue what you’re doing but hell, I don’t know what I’m doing half of the time either. That’s what it’s like being a parent. As long as you love them unconditionally and you always do what’s best for them, you’re on the right track. You make me so proud, David.”

David’s lips twisted and his eyes looked up to the ceiling but there was absolutely no point in trying to hide how emotional Patrick’s words had made him. “I love him.” He said weakly.

“I know, baby. And he loves you. So much.” Patrick snaked his arms around David’s waist to tug him closer. “Plus, Tina was right. He totally copies your facial expressions. That little scrunched up face you pull when someone says something beautiful and your eyes are about to mist up? He totally does that when Rachel or I sing to him. The face you make when I put on my hiking shoes? He makes that same face when I give him avocado. Most of the time when he’s with you, he can’t stop watching you. I love how much he adores you, you know. Rachel does too.”

David dipped forwards and pressed their foreheads together, letting out a little emotional laugh. “Maybe I should learn to control my face.”

“No. Never. How expressive you are is one of the many things I’m totally in love with about you.”

“Hmm. I’d like to hear about these many things.”

“I think that can be arranged.”

“Hm?”

“Mm.”

Patrick tilted his head up and captured David’s lips in a soft kiss. “Love you.” David whispered.

“Love you.”

*

“Uh. Patrick. Patrick! Something’s wrong.” David said cautiously towards the kitchen. It was the night before Rachel was due to come to collect Joseph. They’d taken the day off from the store (Amanda was a godsend) and taken Joseph to the local park. Patrick was now cooking them a delicious meal and David was sat on the sofa, watching baby JJ who was on his tummy on the playmat across the room.

“What?” Patrick dropped the wooden spoon on the floor and rushed over to David. “What’s happened?”

“He’s moving.” David said, a hint of panic in his voice.

They both looked over to JJ who was using his arms and kicking out his chunky little legs to shuffle his way to where David was sitting. He hadn’t got very far but he had a determined scowl on his face.

“David, he’s trying to crawl! Oh my god this is amazing!” Patrick squealed excitedly and dove to get his phone so he could video everything for Rachel. “I think he’s trying to get to you. Why don’t you sit down on the floor so he can see you better.”

David slid himself down onto the floor (he was very thankful that he had already changed into some sweatpants at this point) and sat with his back to the sofa, his legs spread out. He grinned as he watched JJ painstakingly inched his way closer. He hadn’t moved very far but this was such a huge milestone.

“Baby, this is amazing.” Patrick said as he sat down next to David, cooing at his son to gain his attention. Eventually they both shuffled closer so they could scoop JJ into their arms and pepper his cute squishy face with kisses.

It was that moment when something changed in David.

He wanted this.

He wanted this _always._

When he pictured his future, he didn’t just see Patrick. He saw Patrick _and_ children. David wanted a family.

And that thought didn’t scare him one bit.


	6. Chapter 6

It had been nearly two years since Rachel and Joseph had moved to Elmdale, a mere 40 minutes away from the home of David and Patrick. It had drastically changed everything for the better. It meant that Patrick didn’t have to go away for days at a time. It meant that David and Patrick could babysit for an evening or a weekend if Rachel needed some time. It meant that Patrick could see his child more frequently. Not long after moving, Rachel got a job working for the local newspaper and luckily for her, it had a great creche, so childcare wasn’t an issue. David and Patrick offered to help as much as they could and three times a week, they’d have their tiny little mascot join them at the store.

Joseph James Brewer-Nash was now three years old and it was his first day at pre-school. He didn’t quite understand what the fuss from his parents was all about because he was promised fruit, milk and new toy and friends to play with, and to him that didn’t sound like any reason to cry. He huffed as his daddy adjusted t-shirt for the fifth time, then rolled his eyes when he started sniffling. When he moved, Joseph spotted his target and darted over to him, climbing up onto his lap.

“Hey! What did I tell you about doing that with sneakers on, hm? No dirty feet.” David brushed the imaginary dirt off his knees and smiled at the now pouting boy on his lap.

“Sorry, Papa.” He said guiltily.

“It’s okay, honey.” He said, affectionally ruffling his strawberry blonde curls. “Are you excited?”

“Mhm. Mom and Dad are crying.”

“They just can’t believe how fast you’re growing up. It wasn’t that long ago that you were a tiny little thing all bundled up in blankets, and now you’re going to school.” David knew JJ was three, but he never tried to talk to him like he was a baby. He was always honest with Joseph. “They’re so proud of you, honey. We all are. Grandma and Grandpa told me to tell you that you are a shining star and they’re expecting you tell them everything about your day when they call you tonight.” 

Joseph beamed and flopped himself forward so he could hug David tightly. “I’m going to make friends.” He said simply.

“That you are. I have one piece of advice for you though.” Joseph sat up and looked at his Papa seriously. “Always choose kindness. Kindness doesn’t mean you are weak, it makes you strong. Treat everyone you meet with kindness, you promise?” He nodded, his little curls flopping on his head.

“Always be kind.” He repeated.

“That’s my boy. Now, why don’t you go and find Mommy and give her a big squeeze.”

*

His baby sister was turning two and Joseph was _determined_ to get her a really special present. He’d been bugging his mom for weeks to take him to store on the other side of town but she’d always been busy with work or planning her wedding. Usually he’d ask his Dad or Papa to drive him but he wanted to keep his present idea a secret from them too. Today was his lucky day though and Rachel had _finally_ agreed to take him. His sheer determination and stubbornness were traits he had completely inherited from David, but Rachel loved this part of her son. Plus, the moment Joseph had explained his idea for baby Charlotte’s birthday, she had completely melted.

Charlotte had joined their family nearly two years ago. When Joseph had turned two, Patrick and David made the decision that they we’re going to take the steps needed to start their own family. They had been married for a few months and the previous year they brought a house with plenty of space a garden (Joseph in particular was most excited about that) and they felt it was their time.

It hadn’t been easy to bring Charlotte into the world. It took a long time to go through all of the necessary checks and paperwork and unfortunately for them, the first adoption fell through at the last moment which left the pair devastated. They’d finally had some luck with surrogacy and three years after their journey to have a child, Charlotte arrived, pink and screaming _(“Just like her Papa did”_ Moira had commented at the hospital a few hours after her birth). They’d decided not to find out who was biologically her father but her gorgeous dark eyebrows gave the game away very quickly. Not that it mattered. They had a _daughter_ and it was the most wonderful feeling.

David and Patrick were not planning on having a party for Charlotte this year – just a small celebratory gathering with drinks and nibbles at the Brewer-Rose household. Patrick had turned 40 this year and though it was a few weeks ago, everybody’s heads hurt at the thought of another party so soon after that.

Charlotte was fussing earnestly as Patrick tried to slip the red pumps on her little feet but he was having a difficult time with it as she kept trying to roll away from him. He had done her hair the way David had shown him but now it was flying everywhere with her swift tries to get away from her dad. She was definitely in the throes of the lovingly named Terrible Twos (David in particular did not like _anyone_ referring to it as this – his daughter was not ‘terrible’, she just ‘didn’t have the emotional or verbal capacity communicate to her wants and needs’ as he’d put it to many store customers recently) and was either defiant towards anything or terribly needy and clingy. Today was a defiant day and it had been since the moment she woke up.

Patrick was thankful when he heard a knock at the door and then familiar voices filtering in from the hallway. “Dad!” Joseph said gleefully as he stepped into the room, practically flinging himself into his father’s arms. Patrick grinned and squeezed his son back and kissed him on the forehead. “Happy birthday, Charlotte!” He exclaimed as he pulled away, moving over to hug Charlotte. He stepped back when she wailed at him.

“Uh oh.” A sly smile tugged at Joseph’s lips. “Looks like somebody is cranky. I guess I could just go outside and play on the trampoline alone…” Patrick smirked when Charlotte looked up at her brother, stuck out her bottom lip and whined “No, JJ. I jump” in her small voice.

“Okay…but I do need a hug first. It is your birthday after all.” Charlotte tried to huff but couldn’t resist her brother’s charms and hurled herself at her brother to give him a quick squeeze.

Patrick could honestly cry at how wonderful his son was with Charlotte. He worried at first that Joseph would find it hard with the attention on him getting less when she arrived, but he loved having a sister so much and continued to impress everybody with his maturity and kindness.

A few hours later, the entire family (Rachel, Joseph, The Brewer-Rose’s, The Roses, The Mullens’, The Budd’s) were all sat in the garden on various chairs or floor cushions surrounding a roaring fire. Toasted marshmallows and s’mores had been eaten, drinks had been consumed and everybody was contently chatting away. This was the perfect moment to share Joseph’s present. Joseph met his mom’s gaze and she gave him a little thumbs up and she watched proudly as he slinked off inside to retrieve the present he so desperately wanted to get. A few moments later, Joseph walked back into the garden holding a large rectangular present that was wrapped in yellow paper (Charlotte’s favouite colour – much to David’s dismay. He hated yellow and his child was _obsessed_ with anything yellow).

Charlotte cooed from where she was snuggled between her dads when she saw her brother walking towards them. “It mine?” She asked, making grabby hands. Joseph stopped in front of the three of them and beamed brightly at them. “Yeah, Lottie. It’s yours. I wanted to get something extra special. I bugged mom about it for so long because it was perfect. So. Here.”

David and Patrick helped their daughter to rip open the yellow paper and both of them gasped when they unveiled what was underneath.

Joseph’s present was a picture that was taken by Rachel on the day Charlotte was born. David had a tiny bundle in his arms, Patrick had his arms wrapped around his husband as they gazed down, both with pink tear stained cheeks. Joseph was beside Patrick, peering down in awe at his baby sister. It was the exact moment Joseph met her and even when Joseph was way into his 20s, if somebody asked him what his favourite moment ever was, it was this one. The moment he met Charlotte.

A little while later, Stevie snapped a picture of the sight in front of her. The Rose-Brewer-Mullens-Nash clan, all laughing, all smiling, all together, their love for one another unconditional.


End file.
